U.S.A. –-(Ammoland.com)- Archery season is almost upon us. In fact, in some states it may already be in full swing by the time this article publishes. Bear season and turkey hunting will soon be kicking off in Idaho. If you’re like most hunters you’re slowly starting to drag out your hunting gear and blowing the dust off of it.
Smith’s 6″ Natural Arkansas Sharpening Stone
Wut Wo! Suddenly you discover that a few of your broadheads are dull and you slowly remember missing a few shots at that bull last year. With a high percentage of Americans laid off right now you might not be able to spring any extra cash to buy some new broadheads. Don’t worry, Smith’s Consumer Products has you covered. I have four of their products that I’m going to be doing Product Reviews on the next few days that you can use to sharpen up your dull broadheads. Today we’re going to feature the oldest method, using an Arkansas stone. The Smith’s 6” Natural Arkansas Sharpening Stone works great for sharpening your broadheads.
To sharpen your dull broadheads on the Smith’s 6” Natural Arkansas Sharpening Stone is easy. First, to make it safe use a hacksaw to cut a piece of an old broken arrow off about 10-16-inches. This will make sharpening safer and help you hold it more stable so you do a better job.
Screw the piece of arrow into the broadhead. Use the Smith’s Broadhead Sharpener to hold the broadhead steady so you don’t get cut. Stick the point into the appropriate slot on the handle to tighten or loosen the broadhead.
When using a Smith’s 6” Natural Arkansas Sharpening Stone you want to use some honing oil. The oil lubricates the stone and removes metal filings as they are removed thereby letting the stone continue to do its work. In a pinch I’ve had to use vegetable cooking oil or motor oil but they’re not the best. You want to use a low viscosity honing oil.
In the old days not many of my broadheads had the correct angle to be able to lay them flat on the stone and sharpen them. Now, most of mine do. But some still don’t. For instance, the Muzzy used in the pic. The chisel point sticks out which prevents the cutting edges from laying flat on the stone. But don’t panic, you can still touch them up by working on the edge of the stone. Hold the cutting edge on the stone with the point laying alongside the stone but not on top, it will have to be off to the side.
Run the broadhead back and forth. I’d recommend counting and doing it four times. Then rotate and hit the next insert. Repeat. When you have worked through all three inserts then flip the broadhead over and repeat on the other side of the stone.
It is important to count how many times you rub the broadhead on the stone. When sharpening your knife you don’t do it two times on one side and then five on the other do you? No, or you’d end up with a lop-sided angle. Also, I may be paranoid but I think that may make your arrow fly untrue.
(And yes, the Smith’s 6″ Natural Arkansas Stone works fine for sharpening your knives, especially your softer boning knives.)
The MSRP on the Smith’s 6” Natural Arkansas Stone is $19.99 and below is a short listing of the features & benefits.
Features & Benefits
- Excellent for use on double-beveled straight edge kitchen knives and single-beveled Japanese/Asian blades of all sizes
- Plastic lid protects the stone
- Non-slip rubber feet for safety
About Tom Claycomb
Tom Claycomb has been an avid hunter/fisherman throughout his life as well as an outdoor writer with outdoor columns in the magazine Hunt Alaska, Bass Pro Shops, Bowhunter.net and freelances for numerous magazines and newspapers. “To properly skin your animal, you will need a sharp knife. I have an e-article on Amazon Kindle titled Knife Sharpening #ad for $.99 if you’re having trouble.”